Improving transportation services for disadvantaged populations

Abstract

This report is about understanding and improving the transportation services that are available to those people who, because of age, disability, poverty, or other reasons, cannot routinely use automobiles to transport themselves. Our concern in particular is with the set of specialized, small-vehicle transit services that lie in the range between large-vehicle, fixed-route transit, and rides arranged privately with friends and family. These services, commonly known as "community-based transportation," can range from a single vehicle, operated when needed by a nursing home or small human service agency, to large public and private fleets operating around the clock, and metro-wide.